Fallen Angels
by Frizz07
Summary: Here, at the edge of the forest, lay two undistinguished souls, brought together in the moments that mattered the most. A story of romance and the power of death.


**Disclaimer:** As much as I'd love to own Draco Malfoy, I really don't own a thing.

**Fallen Angels**

It had never been expected that these two demented souls would find each other in such circumstances. She, the lonely hearted, and he, the underestimated. He had given up on life, having found that the path that he was taking was not the one that best suited him. She had given up looking for that special person who could see past all her imperfections and love her without any doubts. It was unusual that on this day, at the end of the war, that these two lonely hearts found one another when life began to end its course.

_Baby I've been here before_

_I've seen this room and_

_I've walked this floor_

_I used to live alone before I knew you_

Hermione had been lying on the ground in the middle of the woods when he found her. Draco, having taken more than enough hits to the chest, slumped down against a tree, his hand grasping the large gash on his chest.

_Give up. _He wanted so badly to let go. He wanted, needed, to be free. _Freedom is only seconds away. _

It was when he saw her that he knew he had to hold on for only a few minutes longer.

Hermione lay in a pile of leaves, her delicate hands shaking as she held her stomach. From what he could see, it looked as though she were badly hurt, possibly more than him. It was an unusual feeling, seeing her there, defenseless and alone. He had never cared for the girl, considering the fact that she was a Mudblood. He had been taught by his father that Mudblood's were a terrible race, one in which you should never communicate with.

As defenseless and alone as she was, she looked so amazingly beautiful. Being the night of the annual Yule ball, she was dressed in a purple satin strapless gown, her cascade of chestnut curls sweeping over the bare skin of her chest. Draco could not resist looking at her. She was the most amazing woman he'd ever set his eyes upon.

Wincing, Hermione turned her head slowly to the side, her eyes connecting with his. She sneered as she looked at him, her eyes just as cold as the snow that gently fell down on them.

"Great." she said, softly. "Of all people, you'll be the last one that I see before I die."

Draco sneered at the girl, crossing his arms protectively over his chest. "Damn, Granger, don't make it sound too much like you hate me."

"Go to hell, Malfoy." she said, narrowing her eyes.

"I'll actually be going there very shortly." he said, grinning, masking his agony.

Hermione's lips parted in shock. "You're..."

"Dying?"

"You're dying, too?" she whispered, the coldness in her eyes fading to sincerity.

_I've seen your flag on the marble arch_

_But love is not some victory march_

_It's a cold_

_And it's a broken hallelujah_

Draco ran an uneasy hand through his hair, nodding his head. "Don't act like you care, Granger." he spat. "Just because we're … dying, doesn't mean that we have to be nice to each other."

"I'm not trying to be nice to you, Malfoy," she said, rolling her head back to look up at the sky. "I wouldn't waste my last breath on you."

Gazing in her direction, Draco watched as her chest slowly rose and fell, her body trembling with every breath. He knew that she was experiencing more pain than him. Removing his jacket, he scooted himself closer to her, resting the jacket over her snow-white skin.

"I don't want it," she said, turning her head away from him.

Malfoy stared down in disgust, knowing well that she did indeed want the jacket. "I'm attempting to be nice, Granger. Just suck up your pride and take the jacket."

"I don't want you to be nice," she snapped back, tears pooling in her eyes. Attempting to remove the jacket, Hermione let out a cry, a wave of pain rushing through her veins. Draco stared down at her, his eyes traveling to the gash on her stomach.

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

"How'd it happen?" he said, his gaze still on the gash.

Shaking her head, Hermione frowned. "I … I don't remember," she said, softly, her mind trailing off to the unclear memories. "I remember seeing two hooded men coming towards me, and when I tried to pull out my wand, I blacked out. When I woke up, I was like this." She said as she broke into a fit of tears.

It was an unusual mixture of feelings that Draco was currently feeling. Compassion for another creature had never been in his nature, but for some reason, he was feeling it now. Damn the feeling. He wasn't supposed to be this way around her. He wasn't _supposed_ to, but it was all too overwhelming.

_Hallelujah, hallelujah_

"You need help, Granger." He said, softly. He had no idea as to why he said it, but he knew that it would be the right thing to do, even if he didn't make it.

Hermione didn't protest as Draco struggled to lift her in his arms, pain searing through his body. Letting out a cry, Draco pressed her body against his chest for support as his legs threatened to give out from underneath him. Sweat beading on her forehead, Hermione rolled her head back in his arms.

"I don't want to die," she said, her eyes glazed with tears. "I don't want to go just yet."

Draco took several deep breaths, feeling the numbness spreading through his legs. "You're not … going to die, Granger," he said, attempting to comfort her in any way he knew possible. Tree branches slapped and tore at his face as he stumbled through the forest, his feet nearly tripping over the assorted rocks and logs. "You'll be fine." He said, biting his lip as he struggled to hold her in his arms. The pain was unbearable at this point, but he knew that the one thing that he wanted to do most before he died was to get her to safety.

_Well there was a time when you let me know_

_What's really going on below_

_But now you never show that to me do you_

_But remember when I moved in you_

_And the holy dove was moving, too_

_And every breath we drew was hallelujah_

It was the alarming scream from Hermione that almost scared Draco right to death. Her tiny body shook in his arms, the porcelain skin of her face glazed with sweat. Tears pooled in his eyes as he fought on, every step bringing him more and more pain. "Everything's going to be fine," he assured her as her screaming began to simmer, his body trembling with hers.

Reaching the end of the forest, Draco sighed deeply, his breath coming out in puffs in the cold night air. It was there that he dropped to his knees, holding tightly to Hermione. He couldn't go any farther. He wanted so badly to fight it, but he knew that it would be only minutes before he would have to let go.

Pushing the hair back from her face, Draco looked down at Hermione, her once angelic eyes now faded and lost. "I'm sorry," he said, letting the tears fall down his face. He didn't care if she saw him cry. Not now, anyway. "I don't have the strength to go on, and now we're both going to die." He said, not bothering to wipe away the tears that glistened on his cheeks. "I'm dying because I tried to protect you."

Hermione looked up at him, confused. "You tried to … protect me?"

He nodded, smoothing his hand through her hair. "Crabbe and Goyle told me that they were going to get their revenge on you, and when I tried to stop them, they beat the bloody daylights out of me. They didn't understand why I wanted to save you."

"Why did you?" she said, her eyes fluttering as she struggled to keep them open.

Draco smiled uneasily. "I knew that I had to protect you." He said, softly. "I've always had a thing for you, Granger, even if I hate to admit it."

Hermione brought her hand to his face, resting it on his cheek. "I always knew you had some good in you, Draco Malfoy." she said, ever so softly, before her body grew limp in his arms, and in seconds, she was gone.

_Hallelujah, hallelujah,_

Draco gazed down at her as the light faded from the eyes that he loved so dearly. Holding her close to his chest, he pressed his face in the crook of her neck, tears spilling down her skin. It wasn't minutes later that his eyes began to darken, bits and pieces of his memories flashing before his eyes.

_"Of all people, you'll be the last one that I see before I die." Hermione said, her eyes as cold as the snow that fell down on them. _

It was his time to go. With his last bit of vision, he looked down at Hermione, his breath slowly easing, his muscles relaxing, his world darkening, and his body finally letting go.

It was unusual that at this time, on this day, that Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger found one another, just as time had come to an end. It was unfortunate that there would be no one around to witness such a thing as this. Here, at the edge of the forest, lay two undistinguished souls, brought together in the moments that mattered the most.

_Hallelujah. _

**Author's Note:** So I've been working on this little fic for quite a while, but I've been so busy with school that I haven't had that much time to actually work on it. I have a few other things started, so expect those to pop up sometime in the near future. Before I forget, the song I used in this fic is called "Hallelujah" by Imogen Heap. If you've seen the final episode of the third season of The OC (the episode where Marissa dies), you'd know just how beautiful the song is. Well, I want to give a huge thanks to everyone that reads and reviews this fic. I've gotten so many great reviews for Miss Murder, and I thank everyone for being so supportive of my writing.

Jess aka Frizz


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